Welcome back to my live blog from here at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. I'll be bringing you all the latest happenings as soon as they happen. E-mail me at JoeB@wgr550.com with any questions you want answered throughout the day.
3:53 p.m.- The day seems to be winding down now. So I'll just provide some thoughts on today's activities. I'm really disappointed in how Brandon Pettigrew ran. He said he wanted to run a 4.4 in the forty yard dash. Even though I think he was kidding, he surely couldn't have anticipated running only a 4.85. One of the worst times of the day at that position. The tight end I've been talking about most, Shawn Nelson from Southern Mississippi, ran an expected 4.53. Best interview of the day was with Cal LB Zack Follett. He was unlike most of the players here who sounded like PR-trained robots at times. He brought some personality in to the conversation.
3:22 p.m.- Wow. A moment to breathe. The staff here dropped a hammer on us. It's set up with three podiums to interview prospects. The overhead announcement said "Brian Cushing, USC," who's about a 1st-2nd rounder as of now. As I was walking over there, I saw a player with long hair waltzing in to the media room, and I knew it was immediately Rey Maualuga, also of USC. He occupied the second podium, and within two minutes of him starting to speak, the overhead announces Boston College's DT B.J. Raji at the third and final podium.
Raji weighed in at a brisk 337 pounds, by the way.
2:09 p.m.- An update on Penn State defensive end Aaron Maybin. He's put on 20 pounds since the end of the season, and has measured in at 6'3", 250 lbs. His biggest criticism is his weight issues as a down lineman.
1:39 p.m.- Some early 40 times from the tight end group (UPDATED):
Jared Cook, South Carolina - 4.42
Shawn Nelson, Southern Mississippi - 4.53
Cameron Morrah, California - 4.59
Marquez Branson, Central Arkansas - 4.59
Cornelius Ingram, Florida - 4.62
James Casey, Rice - 4.71
Jared Bronson, Central Washington - 4.71
John Phillips, Virginia - 4.77
Dan Gronkowski, Maryland - 4.78
Davon Drew, East Carolina - 4.78
Anthony Hill, NC State- 4.81
Brandon Pettigrew, Oklahoma State- 4.85
Richard Quinn, North Carolina - 4.87
Kory Sperry, Colorado State - 4.89
Bear Pascoe, Fresno State- 4.97
Chase Coffman, Missouri - DNP
Brian Mandeville, Northeastern - DNP
Rob Myers, Utah State - DNP
Eddie Williams, Idaho - DNP
1:18 p.m.- It took a little longer than expected but we finally heard from Modrak, he touched on a few of the prospects:
- Believes Penn State defensive end Aaron Maybin can play that same position at the next level, but his weight is certainly a concern.
- He thinks Florida State defensive end Everette Brown can play at both defensive end in the 4-3, or as an outside linebacker in a 3-4. Modrak also said Brown checked in at 6'1".
- Modrak says Texas defensive end Brian Orakpo isn't a speed rusher, but a pass rusher.
- Believes the center position this year is stronger than in the last few off-seasons.
- Said that the way free agency plays out does not affect their draft board.
- Hasn't crossed out any position as of yet, they're still evaluating all the positions.
- He hasn't seen a lot of QB Drew Willy just yet, but he's on their board and he's what Modrak says, "a candidate."
12:18 p.m.- Tom Modrak to speak in 10 minutes.
11:48 a.m.- Still waiting for the first big time defensive end prospect to speak with us. So far I've talked with DT Ziggy Hood (Missouri), DE/TE/LB Connor Barwin (Cincinnati), and DE Maurice Evans (Penn State).
11:05 a.m.- Drew Willy just got done speaking with the media. Here's just a few highlights:
- Measured in at 6'3", 215 lbs.
- Most memorable game of his life was the Bowling Green game this past season, where the Bulls came back from 20 points down with just 10 minutes to go.
- He said he's out to prove his doubters about his overall arm strength wrong. He'll be throwing to the tight ends today in drills, and stressed that he has proved over his career that he's an accurate quarterback.
- He believes the best thing you can prove to an NFL team is that you're consistent at the quarterback position.
- Drew told us once he won the starting job when Turner Gill took over, Gill did everything possible to make Willy the best quarterback he could. He gave him pointers on ball security, and finding the holes in the secondary.
- Says he and Ball State QB Nate Davis were reminiscing about their respective careers in line for the medical screenings, but the MAC Championship never came up.
10:31 a.m.- We've got the word on Willy, we'll be speaking to him shortly.
10:23 a.m.- Just to update you, today we'll be hearing from the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers that we didn't hear from yesterday. Then the defensive linemen and linebackers will start to roll in.
9:39 a.m.- First interview of the day has came and went. A 5'8" Tyrell Sutton out of Northwestern kicked things off. The running back, who has had past injury problems, said he totally checked out. He noted that his wrist isn't fully 100% yet, so he won't be doing the bench press.
9:16 a.m.- Some results from yesterday's bench press for the offensive linemen, tight ends and kickers:
Note, this are not all the players that worked out. Just the notables:
Tight Ends
James Casey, Rice - 28
Travis Beckum, Wisconsin - 28
Dan Gronkowski, Maryland - 26
Jared Cook, South Carolina - 23
Brandon Pettigrew, Oklahoma State - 22
Cornelius Ingram, Florida - 21
Shawn Nelson, Southern Mississippi - 19
Chase Coffman (Missouri) did not bench press due to injury.
Centers
Juan Garcia, Washington - 34
A.Q. Shipley, Penn State - 33
Robby Felix, UTEP - 33
Jon Cooper, Oklahoma - 31
Eric Wood, Louisville - 30
Rob Bruggeman, Iowa - 30
Jonathan Luigs, Arkansas - 26
Antoine Caldwell, Alabama - 24
Max Unger, Oregon - 22
Alex Mack (California) did not bench press due to injury.
Offensive Tackles
Jason Smith, Baylor - 33
Alex Boone, Ohio State - 33
James Meredith, South Carolina - 31
William Beatty, Connecticut - 27
Eben Britton, Arizona - 24
Eugene Monroe, Virginia - 23
Michael Oher, Mississippi - 21
Gus Parrish, Kent State - 21
Tony Kropog, Tulane - 21
Kyle Link, McNeese State - 19
Jason Watkins, Florida - 18
Andre Smith (Alabama) did not bench press because of a personal decision.
Guards
Louis Vasquez, Texas Tech - 39
Travis Bright, BYU - 34
Trevor Canfield, Cincinnati - 29
Kraig Urbik, Wisconsin - 29
Greg Isdaner, West Virginia - 24
Andy Levitre, Oregon State - 23
Herman Johnson, LSU - 21
Paul Fanaika, Arizona State - 15
Kicker
David Buehler, USC - 25
9:00 a.m.- We're still waiting on Drew Willy to come over to the media room. Not sure what the hold up is, I'll let you know as soon as I know.
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